Tag : Philosophy

Hesse's famous and influential novel, Siddartha, is the story of a young Brahmin's search for ultimate reality after meeting with the Buddha. His quest takes him from a life of decadence to asceticism, through the illusory joys of sensual love with a beautiful courtesan, and of wealth and fame, to the painful struggles with his son and the ultimate wisdom of renunciation.

Hesse's famous and influential novel, Siddartha, is the story of a young Brahmin's search for ultimate reality after meeting with the Buddha. His quest takes him from a life of decadence to asceticism, through the illusory joys of sensual love with a beautiful courtesan, and of wealth and fame, to the painful struggles with his son and the ultimate wisdom of renunciation.

With the wisdom, humor, curiosity, and sharp insights that have brought millions of readers to his NYT column and his previous bestsellers, David Brooks has consistently illuminated our daily lives in surprising and original ways. In his latest book, he focuses on the deeper values that should inform our lives. Responding to what he calls the culture of the Big Me, which emphasizes external success, Brooks challenges us, and himself, to rebalance the scales between our “résumé virtues”—achieving wealth, fame, and status—and our “eulogy virtues,” those that exist at the core of our being: kindness, bravery, honesty, or faithfulness, focusing on what kind of relationships we have formed. Looking to some of the world’s greatest thinkers and inspiring leaders, Brooks explores how, through internal struggle and a sense of their own limitations, they have built a strong inner character.

With the wisdom, humor, curiosity, and sharp insights that have brought millions of readers to his NYT column and his previous bestsellers, David Brooks has consistently illuminated our daily lives in surprising and original ways. In his latest book, he focuses on the deeper values that should inform our lives. Responding to what he calls the culture of the Big Me, which emphasizes external success, Brooks challenges us, and himself, to rebalance the scales between our “résumé virtues”—achieving wealth, fame, and status—and our “eulogy virtues,” those that exist at the core of our being: kindness, bravery, honesty, or faithfulness, focusing on what kind of relationships we have formed. Looking to some of the world’s greatest thinkers and inspiring leaders, Brooks explores how, through internal struggle and a sense of their own limitations, they have built a strong inner character.

I admire each of the remarkable individuals that David Brooks examines in “The Road to Character,” and their journeys provide valuable lessons for us all. But what ultimately made me love the book was the way Mr. Brooks examines himself. By taking an unflinching look at his own life and work, he offers a rare present-day model for how to navigate a world that constantly encourages us to focus on résumé, values and reward. Beyond provoking valuable self-reflection and introspection, the book sparked a wonderful discussion with my two daughters about why building inner character is just as important as building a career. In fact, the two go hand in hand—the moral compass of our lives must also be the moral compass of our livelihoods.

What Howard Schultz says

Through this book, David Brooks has encouraged me and thousands of others to reflect further and more deeply on our priorities and aspirations, through the lens of humility and moral depth. David’s insights, wit, and deep curiosity are all applied to a fantastic journey of learning from the lives of some of the greatest leaders and thinkers of our time.

An astonishing work of cultural criticism, this book is widely recognized as the single fullest summation of Girard's ideas to date. In a dialogue with two psychiatrists, Girard probes an encyclopedic array of topics, ranging across the entire spectrum of Anthropology, Psychoanalysis, Christianity and Mimetic Theory, his well-known contribution to philosophy.

An astonishing work of cultural criticism, this book is widely recognized as the single fullest summation of Girard's ideas to date. In a dialogue with two psychiatrists, Girard probes an encyclopedic array of topics, ranging across the entire spectrum of Anthropology, Psychoanalysis, Christianity and Mimetic Theory, his well-known contribution to philosophy.

René Girard is the one writer who has influenced me the most. Here he gives a sweeping view of the whole human experience on this plane — but it’s not just an academic philosophy. Once you learn about it, his view of imitation as the root of behavior is something you will see every day, not just in people around you but in yourself.

A Black Swan is an event, positive or negative, that is deemed improbable yet causes massive consequences. In this groundbreaking and prophetic book, Taleb shows in a playful way that Black Swan events explain almost everything about our world, and yet we—especially the experts—are blind to them.

A Black Swan is an event, positive or negative, that is deemed improbable yet causes massive consequences. In this groundbreaking and prophetic book, Taleb shows in a playful way that Black Swan events explain almost everything about our world, and yet we—especially the experts—are blind to them.

The weirdest idea anyone ever had about the future is that we should expect it to look like the past — but that’s what the reigning science of statistics assumes. Nassim Taleb has not been fooled; he is the single best guide to understanding uncertainty.

In this lively book, Stanislas Dehaene describes the pioneering work his lab and the labs of other cognitive neuroscientists worldwide have accomplished in defining, testing, and explaining the brain events behind a conscious state. A joyous exploration of the mind and its thrilling complexities, this book will excite anyone interested in cutting-edge science and technology and the vast philosophical, personal, and ethical implications of finally quantifying consciousness.

In this lively book, Stanislas Dehaene describes the pioneering work his lab and the labs of other cognitive neuroscientists worldwide have accomplished in defining, testing, and explaining the brain events behind a conscious state. A joyous exploration of the mind and its thrilling complexities, this book will excite anyone interested in cutting-edge science and technology and the vast philosophical, personal, and ethical implications of finally quantifying consciousness.

How did humanity originate and why does a species like ours exist on this planet? Do we have a special place, even a destiny in the universe? Where are we going, and perhaps, the most difficult question of all, "Why?" Pulitzer Prize–winning biologist Edward O. Wilson grapples with these and other existential questions, taking his readers on a journey, in the process bridging science and philosophy to create a twenty-first-century treatise on human existence—from our earliest inception to a provocative look at what the future of mankind portends.

How did humanity originate and why does a species like ours exist on this planet? Do we have a special place, even a destiny in the universe? Where are we going, and perhaps, the most difficult question of all, "Why?" Pulitzer Prize–winning biologist Edward O. Wilson grapples with these and other existential questions, taking his readers on a journey, in the process bridging science and philosophy to create a twenty-first-century treatise on human existence—from our earliest inception to a provocative look at what the future of mankind portends.

Using exemplars of clear thinking and attained wisdom, such as Darwin, Buffett, Montaigne etc., Bevelin focuses on how our thoughts are influenced, why we make misjudgments and tools to improve our thinking. Bevelin tackles such eternal questions as: Why do we behave like we do? What do we want out of life? What interferes with our goals?

Using exemplars of clear thinking and attained wisdom, such as Darwin, Buffett, Montaigne etc., Bevelin focuses on how our thoughts are influenced, why we make misjudgments and tools to improve our thinking. Bevelin tackles such eternal questions as: Why do we behave like we do? What do we want out of life? What interferes with our goals?

A wonderful book on wisdom and decision-making written by a wise decision-maker. This is the kind of book you read first, then leave by your bedside and re-read a bit every day, so you can slowly soak up the wisdom. It is sort of Montaigne but applied to business, with a great investigation of the psychological dimension of decision-making. I like the book for many reasons –the main one is that it was written by a practitioner who knows what he wants, not by an academic. Enjoy it!

Paulos originally wrote this charming little book on analytic logic, its mathematics, and its puzzles in 1985. He uses jokes, stories, parables, and anecdotes to elucidate difficult concepts, and in this case, some of the fundamental problems in modern philosophy.

Paulos originally wrote this charming little book on analytic logic, its mathematics, and its puzzles in 1985. He uses jokes, stories, parables, and anecdotes to elucidate difficult concepts, and in this case, some of the fundamental problems in modern philosophy.